ground of terrorism, and it is a breeding ground and loss of confidence in organization he like the u.n, organizations like the security council and the general assembly haven't been able to do more to help the situation in syria. on the issue of the transition out of power of bashar al-assad, which is one of the ideas out there, there was a note of skepticism floated by the emir, something that is in the ent may not be ultimately practical. if you might allow us a little bit more indulgence. the qatar government is going to invest $35 million in the deposit of the u.s. to create more jobs. it was the iranian president hassan rouhani, who heads for a memorial service for the

pilgrims, many of them iranian, who died at the hajj in minna. this whole iran deal which has been signed between tehran and the five permanent members of the counci security council, a w qulapt hachapter has started ben iran's relationship, that the united states has been prompted, forced he said, to set aside the sanctions that are in place and come to the table and talk. but it is a very long speech about half an hour for president rouhani, one of the key lines, we are prepared to bring democracy to syria. so that's a reaching-out from tehran and explanations to the rest of the world that they are prepared.

remember tehran backs the syrian regime. they are prepared to bring democracy to work with the rest of the world, to bring democracy to syria. as you know, president assad feels there's democracy in place anyway in his country but the rest of the world feels that any elections held there have been a bit of a sham. nonetheless for president rouhani to have said that is probably the headline richelle. >> president rouhani denouncing terrorism and talking about democracy, also made the pivot to economic engagement, no surprise there either john. >> reporter: absolutely. this is what i believe the obama administration was hoping for when it went into this deal which is now part of the congress, it's a major piece of foreign policy and achievement of president obama. and i know that underlying all of it was that ultimately, this should, over the course of the next ten or 15 years, bng iran much more into the world

community. and if president rouhani's words are to be believed, then he's saying that that process has at least started. we know there's a long way to go, a lot of issues could come up but that is a new tone coming from the president of iran in front of the general assembly on this, its 70th anniversary. >> patricia sabga does have some thoughts, your ear did perk up, often what it comes down to is a country's economy, people being able to get jobs, being engaged with the rest of the international community. >> he needs the sanctions to come off, integrate iran back into the global economy. it's not a surprise at all that he was basically equating that economic integration and that economic prosperity if you will with peace in the middle east, basically saying that the more that iran is integrated economically into the world, the

better it is for the region, that this puts iran on the positive side of achievement if you will, and aligning if you will its intreflts with interests of the west. so of course you are always going to see this, syria a horrible tragedy, a horrible civil war. so often what we see when nations talk about how to end the civil war in syria and how to get to some sort of peaceful solution there, they are always going to come with their own agendas as well. >> many of the sound bites from hassan rouhani you could hear from anybody campaigning here in the west. that terrorism is bad, democracy is good. >> exactly. what's good for iran's economy is good for overall objectives in the reasoning, to end the civil war in syria to close those vacuums, to beat back extremism.

>> let's go ahead and listen to a little bit of what hassan rouhani said earlier. >> translator: considering the fact that this deal has created an objective model, it can serve as a basis for foundational change in the region. our policy is to continue our peace-seeking efforts in the region based on the same win-win principle and act in a way that would lead to all in the region and world benefiting from these new conditions. >> so patricia, sounds like he's really trying to sell it that this is good for us this is good for region everybody get on board. >> exactly, this is good for u.s. objectives as well, that is why he is positioning this as a win win. iran needs the sanctions to come offfully. when you are saying win win, it's almost a little open for

business, come invest in us, it's good for you, good for us, good for the region, this was a hard sell but this is a deal that was positive and positive for everyone. >> will that happen? is it true if you build it they will come, if you open they will come? >> you have to appreciate the position iran plays in the region. a crippled economy but an enormous couple and enormous economy. there is a lot of interest in investing in iran in anything from rebuilding the infrastructure for their oil sector to rebooting their auto industry. most certainly whenever you see an economy for such a large well educated country that's such a pivotal player and it's stable too, iran is stable, all of those things basically international investors go, ca n

kaching. there is money to be made there. >> much more analysis of the speeches you've heard and many more speeches coming up throughout the morning. do keep it here.

>> we must not forget that the roots of terror can be found in the military intervention of yesterday. if we did not have the u.s. military invasion of afghanistan and iraq, and the u.s.'s united states unwarranted support for the inhumane action he of the zionist regime against the

oppressed nation of palestine today the terrorists would not have an execution for justification of their crimes. >> all right there you have it. the president of iran, hassan rouhani. i'll bring in patricia sabga, another one of our analysts pointed out that often a lot of the things we hear at the usga, the conflict of palestine. we hadn't heard much about it, other than the conflict in the middle east, it had been an overriding theme, hassan rouhani brought it up, the emi are of qatar brought it up and president rouhani brought it up, that was the essence of the conflict, he pointed out who he blamed for the problems and the trickle down effect of what palestine has in the region.

>> absolutely, this is an issue that doesn't go away and an issue that so many extremist groups wrap themselves in the cloak of palestine. it is an intractable and deeply emotional and it is most certainly used as a recruiting tool for youngsters to move them into the islamist state into i.s.i.l. if you will. needing to address this issue they are not just bumping their gums or remarking on it. there is a strong feel among all middle east analysts, the ones i have talked to over the years, this is an intractable quagmire right now but it has to be addressed, it has to be dealt with, you have to move forward to some sort of resolution because if not it will be this festering open and bleeding wound that will be hijacked if you will by elements of the islamic state to try bolster

their cause. >> statehood of palestine needed to be a partnershi partner to me that happens. if i could bring in my colleague john terret, john are you out there? john you've got your thick notebook there, i'm a little hesitant about what you have on there but it means you're on point from all the speakers we have had this morning. yes? >> reporter: so far this morning we've been printing off the speeches as have been published by the various press authorities. >> let's talk john about some of the speeches this morning. we have heard some reference to refugees, although i think that's what the secretary-general ban ki-moon was hoping would be addressed. it doesn't seem that the speakers have brought that up too much. climate change has been

consistent. ing i'll let you finish. >> reporter: behind the scenes the refugee crisis in the middle east and north africa, there is a lot of talking going on and it's been propertied 50 refugee crisis as they come over from north africa or through the balkans on their way to germany. what has -- we were just having this conversation just now, for at least the best part of last year the issue of syria has been a little bit on the back burner as far as the international community is concerned. it's been considered to be pretty difficult to resolve so therefore people haven't really been looking at it or tackling it too much. not certainly since the geneva peace accords were signed, which of course have collapsed. however, that has now changed. and syria is very much on the front burner once more. and the reasons is, really,

twofold. those refugees that you see streaming into europe and also, because of president putin's stationing of those marines and those attack aircraft and those helicopters and those tanks, in western syria. that is really worrying the international community. and so those two things have prompted massive behind-the-scenes talks here. everybody is talking about syria. it's the number one topic of this year's general assembly. i don't think we're going to end this general assembly by the end of the week with any firm conclusions. these are what you might call talks about talks. nobody has any idea what to do but you know what richelle, they are talking. >> better to be talking about it than not talking about it that's for sure. maybe it will get us closer to some sorts of resolution. let's go ahead and take a quick break. this is just the beginning of sessions, there's an afternoon of sessions as well, there are a

few people we'd like to highlight that, we'd like to discuss with my colleagues, let's get that break here sand keep it on al jazeera america.

>> mdma helps with the therapeutic connection. >> exclusive access to the experimental tests. >> our fears are dancing between us. >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> this is what innovation looks like. >> can affect and surprise us.

>> i feel like we're making an impact. >> awesome! >> techknow - where technology meets humanity. >> for two years the united states and our partners including russia, including china, stuck together in complex negotiations. the result is a lasting comprehensive deal that prevents iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon while allowing it to access peaceful energy. and if this deal is fully implemented the prohibition on nuclear weapons is strengthened, a potential war is averted, our

world is safer. that is the strength of the international system when it works the way it should. >> of course there you have u.s. president barack obama, the second speaker this morning at the u.n. general assembly as is tradition being the host country, brazil going first. he spoke for about 45 minutes, a full 30 minutes past the allotted 15 minutes but nobody sticks to the 15 minutes. let's bring in my colleague john terret to talk about how the morning has gone. mixed reviews about the content of the president's speech but having said that it was an interesting morning. a lot of interesting people spoke, vladimir putin spoke, hassan rouhani spoke, what is the feedback you're getting on who really grabbed the spotlight, really stole the show this morning? >> reporter: oh, president

putin, no question whatsoever. there is a man who basically called for a coalition in the world to pull together to try and sort out the syrian crisis and he meant that bashar al-assad, the present leader of syria should be involved in that. now just to hear him say that, and to see him at the general assembly for the first time in ten years was amazing. so he stole show absolutely no doubt. a lot of the speeches today i think have been really anniversary speeches, reflecting the fact that the u.n. is 70 years old. and putin did that, as well. and guess what, he opened his speech by referring to yalta, saying this august organization, the united nations, its principles couldn't have been founded without the yalta conference. well yalta is in crimea and he annexed that two years ago. incredibly audacious, absolutely unbelievably audacious. so putin is the star of the show today.

>> the media were told before he was giving the speech, that the speech would change the world. i'm not sure if he had input on that. >> imlr d >> reporter: do we have more time? >> absolutely. go ahead john. >> egypt, led by hosne mubarak in the past, to sign a peace deal with israel, the other one being jordan. the united states government gives egypt $1.5 billion every ar in support, and then that money is turned around comes back to the united states in the form of arms sales. and of course president sisi has recently taken over. there was a report the other day saying between july 2013 and july 2014, i think it's hundreds of thousands of people have been

arrested, might be 40,000 people. anyway it's a huge people, many, many thousands of people have been arrested, or accused, or in some way their liberty has been interfered with by the government in egypt. now, president sisi of course overthrew the previous administration of president morsi and its military backed government and everyone will be watching to see what he says. given the strategic importance of this country. it's a very large country as well. egypt. >> all right before i let you go ask you again, raul castro is going to be here for the first time as well. >> he spoke i think on saturday at the u.n. sustainable goals conference and what can you say about raul castro? one of the great survivors alongside hi brother fidel castro, the leaders of the cuban revolution. that revolution leading to the united states pulling away for

50, 60 years. those ties appear to be back on. we still haven't lifted the embargo, but the pope there last week before he came to the united states and raul castro i'm sure will pull no punches against the u.s. administration. it's what the u.n. does best to allow people to vent their spleens as it were, to say what they want to say, and everybody can move on. >> vent our spleens, is that a british thing? >> maybe, i'm not prepared to say. >> john terret, thank you so much. let's get in another quick break. keep it here on al jazeera. america.

>> welcome back. we are a little more than halfway through the morning session, the unga, united

nations general assembly. we will be taking a break shortly and then we'll be bringing you the afternoon session as well. it's been an interesting morning. you've been hearing from president obama, the president of china russia iran france and the emir of qatar right now. let's bring you more of the today's news right now.a major discovery that could lead to the potential of life on mars. nasa revealed that researchers found evidence of frozen and liquid water. nasa wants to send researchers to the planet to see it for themselves. >> and today's announcement of a real fascinating result about current water on mars, is one of the reasons why i feel it's even more imperative that we send as strow-biologist he and planetary scientists to mars to explore

the question of is there current life on mars? >> the slopes appear to have salty deposits which researchers say can only be moved by water, the current observations are done at the dryest part of the day which means it's very difficult to see the water in its liquid form. presidential candidate donald trump is out with a new tax plan that would raise taxes on the richest americans and reduce taxes to zero for the poorest but also eliminate some loopholes and tax breaks for corporations. >> it will provide major tax relief for middle income and for most other americans. there will be a major tax reduction. it will simplify the tax code. it will grow the american economy. that level that it hasn't seen for decades.

and all of this does not add to our debt or our deficit. >> a new poll says the republican front runner losing ground to ben carson. german prosecutors have begun an investigation into volkswagen's ceo martin winterkorn. >> the public prosecutor's office in the city of brownschweig has announced it is launching a criminal investigation into martin winterkorn, the former ceo of volkswagen group who resigned under pressure last week. the focus of the probe says the prosecutor's office will be on potential fraud surrounding volkswagen's now admitted scheme to cheat emissions testing by implanting special software into 11 million of its vehicles that make their diesel engines appear when testto be less polluting

when in fact they were much more polluting when driven on the highway under actual driving conditions. now, it was less than a week ago that winterkorn was a highly respected german executive, with nearly unlimited ambitions and running the company that sold more cars than any other car america in the world. today, he is in disgrace out of a job and facing potential criminal charges. and there's also news that the audi division of volkswagen has announced that 2.1 million of its vehicles are involved in this emissions testing, cheating scandal as well. german authorities have given volkswagen a little more than a week to come up with a timetable explaining how the company will bring these polluting vehicles back up to national standards for emissions. now, as far as winterkorn is concerned, when he resigned last week he made a point of saying

he had no knowledge of this scheme to cheat the emissions test, and the board of directors of rng volkswagen, as they acced winterkorn's resignation, said they had no indication that had he any such knowledge. matteas mueller obviously has a very large job to do. volkswagen faces more than $18 billion in potential fines in the united states alone and since the news broke its share price has fallen off a cliff. >> this is rob reynolds from berlin. thank you for your attention.

we're taking a break and we'll rejoin you this afternoon. keep it here.

>> joint military exercises between united states and south korea are regular occurrences. this one, codenamed max thunder - took place in november at the kunsan air force base, 150 miles south of seoul... >> this type of exercise takes place every year, but for the north korean government they consider this a provocation and a threat. >> north korea is still a flash point. we're still at a state of war with north korea. this is 1953 armistice. >> if there was someday heaven forbid a real war here we would need to work very closely. we are always practicing

together, always working together >> thankfully we have helped stabilize and ensure the security of the peninsula for the last 61 years, but in spite of that long time we have to be ready to fight tonight and that really is our mantra. >> north korea is under new leadership. >> kim jong-un looks funny, he is overweight, and sometimes does strange things. but he is smart. when his father died, 7 top officials, 4 generals and 3 civilian bureaucrats, walked next to the coffin of his father in december 2011. in two years time, none of them was alive and in a high level position. >> when it comes to international relations, kim jong-un's rule has been described as erratic. since coming into power, he's launched a long-range rocket and carried out a nuclear

test. most recently, the u.s. accused the north of orchestrating a cyber attack on sony pictures last fall, fault lines was granted rare access inside the country. we went to understand what, if anything, has changed since kim jong un came to power, and how u.s-north korean relations look from the other side. >> our visit to north korea was part of a highly controlled press tour sponsored by the government. our guides decided where we went, who we spoke to and they were with us at all times. >> "my name is kang _ó" [korean-on loud speaker]

>> so we have to wear this to identify ourselves as international press, and we have to use it while working on the streets. the kim family and the worker's party have ruled north korea for over 6 decades. apparently today is the 17th anniversary that kim jong il was elected secretary of the party, and people are coming to these statues to pay their respects." >> a lot of people from different walks of life. army soldiers. they come...

north korea has one of the largest standing armies in the world. men are conscripted for up to 10 years. it's because of the idea of "songun", which means "military first." >> we are headed to the border between north and south korea. it's one of the most heavily fortified border areas in the world. we just passed three checkpoints but we were not allowed to film because of security concerns we went to meet lt. colonel nam tong ho, of the korean people's army

>> on this side is north korea and the other is united states and south korea. >> the west is always saying north korea has to dismantle their nuclear weapons program... north korea has to do this... ...and has to do that... what would it take? we were told the nuclear deterrent - as they call it - means the government can focus on other things,

like development. >> we are building more fancy looking buildings on the river. a man who has made a success or achievement for the society - then he will be kind of a priority to go there. >> our guides brought us to one of these new buildings that we were told is for families of professors at kim il sung university. sin gyong-ju lives there with her daughter, son in law, and grandson. she was worried about the health of kim jong un, who had not appeared in public for several weeks.

>> you're going to cry too we're all crying >> then the conversation turned to the united states. she told us the americans provoke and threaten north korea regularly, but she is certain they will not attack - because they would lose. >> do you think that there's the possibility that there can be a war again? >> throughout our visit, it was difficult to know where the propaganda ended and genuine sentiment began. to try and get a fuller picture

of life under kim jong un, we had to leave the country. >> what do you want american's to understand? >> there's so much injustice. >> workers are being injured constantly.

>> the homeless... it's not always who you think. >> the majority are families with children. >> a growing epidemic that impacts us all. >> i think it's the most helpless feeling i've ever experienced. >> but who's getting rich while some are just trying to survive? >> they want to make the city for people that can afford things. >> "faultlines". al jazeera america's hard-hitting... >> today they will be arrested. >> ground-breaking... >> they're firing canisters of gas at us.

>> award winning investigative documentary series. >> in north korea, we spoke only to people chosen by the government, so to get a sense of what life was really like under kim jong un, at least for some, we traveled to seoul. we're on our way to meet a couple from north korea who've left the country after kim jong un came to power. the husband apparently has just arrived to south korea. neither of them have spoken to the media before. kim jong un has tightened border security. and less north koreans have managed to defect in recent years. we've been asked not to reveal their identities or where they live because even though they have left the country, they are still afraid. we are changing their names and distorting their voices at their request.

kim min-su ("kim min soo") and ahn su-bin (on soo bin") escaped separately across the river to china. >> did you ever feel in danger?

>> su-bin told us she had wanted to leave north korea ever since her father was swept up in a purge when she was 14. >> she said after her father disappeared, her family was exiled from pyongyang. >> the government only allowed us to speak to people that were approved by them. of the people you know, what is the general feeling among the population? >> in 2013, the united nations released a groundbreaking report on human rights abuses in north korea,

concluding their abuses - including forced labor, deliberate starvation, torture, and the complete denial of the right to freedom of thought quote "have no parallel in the contemporary world" when he was only 9 years old, kang chol kwan said he was imprisoned at the yoduk political prison camp with his family. when he was released 10 years later, he escaped to the south >> so there are entire families kept in these places?

>> 80 to 120,000 people are reported to be held in these camps on life sentences. the north korean government denies that political prisons exist. >> we wanted to raise the issue of human rights while on our visit to north korea >> you're all welcome to korea, to see the reality of korea. which will be different for you from what you've heard. by the way, have you found people that have horns, and red face? >> (laughs) no, we haven't. we were given one chance to sit down and ask questions with

party members. our guides insisted it wasn't an interview, just a conversation >> in the western world, especially in the united states, there is a lot of criticism of this country about what happens to those who oppose the government, so we wanted to know his opinion about what other countries say about human rights here in this country. >> in december, the un general assembly voted to refer north korea to the international criminal court for alleged crimes against humanity. the question is now on the permanent agenda of the security

council. kim il sung square was filled with thousands of people in a government rally against the united states and the united nations. >> andrei lankov is a historian who has studied north korea for decades. >> north korea is a notorious human rights abuser. arguably, the world's worst human rights abuser. having said that, these resolutions have no impact whatsoever. because they understand: it's official now: if they lose, they are not going to be spared.

so they are going to fight, and they are going to be even more repressive, not less. >> in seoul, kim ji-woo ("kim jee oo") - not her real name - told us she had been arrested and tortured by the north korean security police after she was falsely accused of being a spy. she said she defected in 2013 and that her family is still in north korea.

ji-woo told us that when kim jong il died, many people had a secret hope his son would bring change, but she says it could not be said publicly and they had to fake their grief

but she said that hope didn't last long. >> did you ever see something like that? did you see executions? >> there is a small dirty secret. there is very little resistance in an efficient and sufficiently brutal dictatorship state. resistance is possible when repression doesn't work properly. and if you have a well-run repressive state, nobody dares to say anything. >> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on,

not just in this country, but around the world. getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target weeknights 10:30p et

on al jazeera america. technology... it's a vital part of who we are - >>they had some dynamic fire behavior... >> and what we do... >> don't try this at home! >> techknow, where technology meets humanity... saturday, 6:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> welcome everyone to al jazeera america.

i'm tony harris in new york. there is a bit of a scrum going on right now in ferguson, missouri. we're about to bring a news conference from ferguson. on the resignation of the city's police chief. thomas jackson would be the sixth city employee to either step down or be fired in the wake of last week's scathing justice department report. now that report followed the police shooting death of michael brown and uncovered a history of racial bias in policing. we talk about some of the details, and we certainly learned that racist e-mails from city officials, the report found that the police department discriminated against african-americans, that blacks were stopped more often than whites, and blacks were ticketed and treated differently in court. in the aftermath of all this, the court clerk, her name is mary ann twitty. she resigned.

the police captain, rick hennick, and william mudd all resigned. john shaw, and municipal judge ronald brockmeyer also resigned. let's take you back now to ferguson. there you see the mayor , james knowles iii. he'll make the announcement. let's listen in. >> good afternoon, the city of ferguson and police chief thomas jackson have agreed to a mutual separation which involves the police chief's resignation. this was a mutual decision both by the chief of police and the city's administration. chief jackson will receive a sel severance payment with health insurance for one year.

the lt. col. will resume the duty as acting chief of police as of march 15th, 2015. in search of our new city

>> diplomacy over dinner. the key speeches show divisions remain over i.s.i.l. and syria. hello i'm maryam nemazee. northeastern afghanistan. german